The history and development of English - Реферат

Міністерство освіти і науки України РЕФЕРАТ з дисципліни «Історія англійської мови» на тему: «Історичні передумови Староанглійської мови» Київ - 2014 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION SECTION 1. Pre-Germanic Britain 1.1 The Celtic Period 1.2 The Roman invasion in Britain SECTION 2. The arrival of Germanic tribes SECTION 3. Scandinavian invasions SECTION4. Old English(or Anglo-Saxon) CONCLUSION REFERENCES ATTACHMENTS INTRODUCTION The history and development of English, from the earliest known writings to its status today as a dominant world language, is a subject of major importance to linguists and historians, who cover the entire recorded history of the English language, outlining its development over fifteen centuries. But it`s important to mention that the history and the exact origin of English is rather disputable question as even now the historians keep on disputing about it. The history of the English language is believed to begin with the invasion of the British Isles by Germanic tribes in the 5th c. of our era. But prior to the Germanic invasion the British Isles were inhabited by Celtic tribes and occupied by the Roman Empire, that made a certain influence on the Old English language itself. Contrary to the traditional idea that Britain originally possessed a Celtic uniformity which first Roman, then Saxon and other invaders disrupted, it is also believed that in reality Britain has always been home to multiple peoples. The aim of the paper is to observe the historical background of Old English in order to get to know what historical events leaded to the appearance of Old English and had an influence on it. The object of research is the history of Britain and Early Old English before the appearance of Old English in 7th BC. The paper is based on works of such prominent historians and linguists as Bede, Don Ringe, Dr Simon James, Terry Hoad and others. SECTION 1. Pre-Germanic Britain 1.1 The Celtic Period It was at the beginning of the Iron Age, between the eighth and sixth centuries BC, that Celts began to occupy the British Isles. They settled not only in Ireland, but throughout Great Britain. Economically and socially they were a tribal society made up of kinship groups, tribes and clans; they were engaged in agriculture and carried on trade with Celtic Gaul. These Celtic tribes were numerous (listed here by their Latin designations): Caledones, Damnonii, Novantae, Selgovae, Votadini, Carvetii, Brigantes, Parisi, Deceangli, Ordovices, Silures, Demetae, Cornovii, Corieltauvi, Dobunni, Durotriges, Dumnonii, Iceni, Catuvellauni, Trinovantes, Cantiaci, Atrebates, Belgae, and Regni. Each of these peoples (themselves divided into many tribes) spoke its own Celtic language (Indo-European family). Intercomprehension must have been relatively straightforward from one person to the next, but more difficult the further one tribe lived from the other. For example, Caledonians, who lived in the north, probably had trouble understanding southern Celts [5]. There was no such thing as ‘English’ during this period. The inhabitants of Britain - the Britons - did not speak English, but various Celtic languages. Modern Welsh, Irish Gaelic and Scots Gaelic are Celtic languages and ‘survivors’ of the original languages in Britain. In Northern France, a Celtic language that continues to be spoken is Breton. The Celtic subgroup of the IE linguistic family is divided into three branches: Gaelic, Britonnic, and Gaulish (Gallic). Later they were absorbed by other IE languages[4]. 1.2 The Roman invasion in Britain In 55 BC, Julius Caesar landed to the south of the island of Great Britain, then still called Britain or Britannia (in Latin). But his two invasions (55 and 54 BC) seem to have had little effect on the history of Roman Britain, for they resulted in neither annexation nor colonial settlement. Then in 43 AD, the Emperor Claudius invaded Britain with four Roman legions (roughly 40,000 men). Occupation went no further north than Hadians Wall (95 km long), which today separates England from Scotland; at the time, Britannia did not include Scotland (Caledonia) or Ireland (Hibernia). The Romans believed that the Celtic natives were less developed and civilized than they were, and that it was their duty to make them conform to their lifestyle and cultural values. Thus they formed cities and created a vast network of roads covering the entire country, while a hierarchy of civil servants managed the country and the army ensured that order reigned. Latin was the common language for both Romans and local inhabitants. However, Romanizing the islands inhabitants-whom the Romans called Brittones (or Britons)-was done rather superficially, and old-time Celtic persisted, at least in the countryside. In other words, Britons continued to speak a variety of Celtic languages, with the exception of the local elites, who were generally bilingual, and for whom Romanization was clearly successful. Rural populations were not assimilated by the Roman